"Hokkaido Ura Sightseeing Guide" - Famous landmarks are great, but why not take a walk a bit off the beaten path?

Most travelers look forward to visiting Hokkaido's many popular areas, but many more would like to travel a bit off the regular path and see what else the island has to offer. Figuring out just where to go, however, can be a bit of a challenge.

Today I'd like to introduce one of the best sources for this "Behind the Scenes" information, a unique guidebook created for just this purpose.

The artistic "Hokkaido Ura Tourist Guide" (Ura here means "Behind the Scenes") was first published in November of 2010 by NPO Hokkaido Adventure Art Publishing.

The first thing that catches your eye is the flashy pink plastic bag, which will make you double take if you happen to spot it in a book store.

Inside the bag are three different guidebooks, each with unique designs unlike any guidebook I've seen before.

Often referred to as the "Pink Plastic Books" the set of three is sold for only 1,000 Yen.

After enjoying the stylish designs take a look inside for information on unique spots that every Hokkaido Liker should know!

After I finished reading I tried to think of a good way to summarize the guidebooks, but there's just too much to talk about!

The information and pictures included in the books are just enough to entice you to make the trip out to the sites themselves, but you'll have to pick up a copy to see for yourself.

I spoke with NPO Hokkaido Adventure Art Publishing representative Naoto about the creation of the guidebooks.

"Of course visitors to Hokkaido will want to see the famous sights, but we wanted to offer visitors a chance to see the other side of Hokkaido, balance the tourism out across the island. Each location has its own story to tell andby bringing tourists to unknown locations the story begins to spread. Before you know it these spots become well known tourist locations as well! That's the whole reason we created these guidebooks."

NPO Hokkaido Adventure Art Publishing representative, Naoto Hori.

Although the original concept planned to finish adding information to the guidebooks by 2013, it seems that the information they want to include has exceeded all their expectations. We'll definitely be back to talk more with the team, perhaps in a different Hokkaido Likers series, and we'll definitely be visiting some of the featured locations to do more articles!

※The guidebooks are sold both inside and outside of Hokkaido, to find out more please visit the homepage below!